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Life After Life
Life After Life
Kate Atkinson | 2014 | Fiction & Poetry
10
7.2 (13 Ratings)
Book Rating
Mind-blowing account about different choices
This is really quite a unique novel about the roads taken if a person was given a choice. The story surrounds a woman named Ursula, who dies in various different ways until she makes the right choices. At some points she is aware that she is sensing deja vu, at others, she thinks she's becoming unstable. All throughout however, only snow is a consistent factor in gauging her bearings.

It almost feels like Jacob's Ladder has been amalgamated with Groundhog Day, but in a much more epic fashion, exploring death, conflict, and fate. From dying at birth, to dying during the Second World War, some of the paths are deeply depressing, but bravo to Kate Atkinson for writing a complex yet clear book.
  
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
2014 | Action, Sci-Fi
Epic fight scenes (2 more)
Detailed character building
Great casting
Excellent follow on
MCU takes you on a roller coaster ride of emotions as you follow Steve Rogers trying to settle into modern day life. We are introduced to Sam AKA Falcon who becomes a major character in the MCU and an old face is brought back.
Steve has to decide who he can trust, while dealing with the reveal of who the Winter Soldier actually is.
While Bucky Barnes was Steve's oldest friend and protector while growing up in the first movie, we see Steve gain a supportive and understanding friend in Sam, someone who can see beyond the superhero, to the man behind the shield.
The ending of this one, while leaving a few loose ends naturally, has a much better overall feel to it
  
WX
Weapon X: Days Of Future Now
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Recommended to me by a friend, and sadly, I don't feel like I can review this fairly. While the book itself is solid X-Men stuff and good art abounds, it's very much a coda in the Weapon X saga. A wrap up to a VERY long, VERY involved story arc... of which I have no knowledge or information. I come to the Xverse from the 90s cartoon, the movies and a handful of TPB stories like Age of Apocalypse and God Loves, Man Kills. I just don't have a frame of reference to go on with this story. I'm sure some of the events (and deaths) are meant to be epic OMG moments, but I wasn't there for all the set up, so they were left empty.
  
Interstellar (2014)
Interstellar (2014)
2014 | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Matthew McConaughey (3 more)
Amazing Script
Mind blowing filming and effects
Amazing soundtrack
Can't think of anything (0 more)
Mind Blowing Space Adventure
I read somthwhere recently that many amazing films start with a mundane life and then sends the main characters out of the norm and into a great adventure. This is one of those instances on a epic level. Everything about this is amazing. The storyline is huge but focused, it's adventurous in the extreme and in parts it's very imotional. I can't think of many characters like Copper who are so imotionally driven. The filming is superb, the visual effects of outer space and the planets are amazing. Hans Zimmer wows with a killer soundtrack. Don't slag this film off when I'm around or we'll be having words. I love it!
  
The Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad
Colson Whitehead | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
9
7.7 (10 Ratings)
Book Rating
Powerful, epic, a real look into inhumanity
Reading this is obviously a struggle, the content of slavery is not something that can be trivialised so be warned.

While Colson Whitehead did not get into much character building, the focus on the underground railroad itself is detailed and descriptive. The protagonist Cora serves as a good barometer in understanding the level of horror that many African Americans faced hence the writer does not seem to concentrate on creating emotive backgrounds for each character.

Nevertheless, the terrifying incidents leave the reader empathising with the characters as it reflects the lack of safety and constant fear they had to face. It is a rollercoaster read, starting off slow but still horrifying, culminating in more and more terrible situations.

A 21st century tribute to the generations who have suffered.
  
Streets of Rage II
Streets of Rage II
Action/Adventure, Fighting
Great graphics (1 more)
Amazing soundtrack!
Epic Beat 'em up
This is a brilliant follow-up game to the first Streets of Rage title. It has improved on the original in every way. The graphics are great, bright and colourful. The characters are quite large on screen and have even more moves. The bosses are even better and varied. There are quite a lot of references to Streefighter 2 in terms of some of the moves and character design.
The soundtrack is awesome, even today it's probably considered one of the best games for its music. A great mix of dance, techno. Widely considered as one of the best beat 'em up games ever made. It runs Final Fight very close. Still available on the next gen consoles as a Sega classic game.
  
The Wizard of Lies (2017)
The Wizard of Lies (2017)
2017 | Drama
Captivating...
Bernie Madoff. What can you say? His Ponzi scheme was so complex, far-reaching and of epic proportions, it ruined many people's lives. Tore their life savings from them based on the betrayal of trust.


"Rain Man' director, Barry Levinson, successfully captures the intrigue, suspense, and also the interesting family dynamics in this compelling true story.


If the family dynamics are to be believed as his wife and sons did not know about any of the lies and fraudulent trading, they were either incredibly naive, incredibly stupid or just living the good life..


De Niro gives one of his most memorable recent performances and almost makes you sympathize with him. The actual reporter who wrote the book plays herself well in the film also.


Was Madoff a sociopath?

  
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Inferno (The Divine Comedy, #1)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I have been wanting to read the Divine Comedy for a while now, especially since it is constantly referenced in other works. I thought it was cool how Dante brought in so many well-known political, religious, and just generally famous people then showed them all suffering in Hell. Yes, there was a lot of humor strewn throughout this epic poem, but there were obviously a lot of serious moments that made you have to think. Even if you are not religious, this is a very interesting thing to pick up because of its historical connections as well as being an insight into the minds of some more religious figureheads during this time period. Overall, this was a pretty cool read and I am excited to read the other two.
  
A Feast for Crows
A Feast for Crows
George R.R. Martin | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy
10
8.2 (51 Ratings)
Book Rating
Some people claim that this is the weakest entry in the series so far, but I would have to disagree. It may be lacking in the shocking and epic events that had characterized the previous novels, but the character development and world building is excellent and keep me engaged throughout. Yes, many of the characters that had become the most popular either play minimal roles in this book, or are absent altogether, but they will all feature heavily in the next one, which is essentially to be thought of as part 2 of this one. It can all be a bit overwhelming in scope, but that is part of what makes it so special. If you're not into fantasy, reading these books will change your mind on the genre.
  
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)
2018 | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Not the best Jurassic movie but still ... dinosaurs
The follow-up to Jurassic World sees the cast trying to save the remaining dinosaurs from the erupting volcano on Isla Nublar. The inevitable terribly disguised bad-guys are exposed, along with the corporate greed financing them. While the film is enjoyable, and the action exciting, the whole plot hinges on people opening doors or pressing buttons that they should not press, but then that is the same with Jurassic World (people going into the Indo-Rex's enclosure and releasing it). Sets up the third instalment, which looks to be quite epic in scope.
Jeff Goldblum's role in the film is very minor compared to how much his return has been played in the media. It is a cameo at best.